EVERY YEAR BRINGS A NEW PULSE TO SPECIALTY FINANCE, BUT 2025 FEELS DIFFERENT.
The ground is shifting under everyone’s feet. Risk, deals and expectations look different. The leaders who stand out now are the ones who don’t just respond to change but find a way to get ahead of it. That is why we created the inaugural Power Players issue. Nominated by our readers and selected by vote of our advisors and senior staff, Power Players recognizes companies in the specialty finance ecosystem that are not only adapting but setting the pace. This special section offers thought leadership, standout deals, case studies and profiles across five categories.
We begin with the Activators, the advisors who keep the wheels turning even as the terrain gets rougher. Their insights reveal how lenders are adapting to rising risk, heavier regulatory oversight and a marketplace that won’t sit still. They show what it takes to be a true partner under pressure.
Then we turn to the Revitalizers, who share that warning signs are flashing across multiple sectors. These experts outline where distress is spreading fastest and how companies can stabilize before challenges compound.
Our Technologists section captures a shift that is impossible to ignore. AI is no longer a future concept. It is here, reshaping underwriting, portfolio monitoring and the pace at which decisions are made. The leaders featured in this issue lay out where automation is delivering real progress and where caution is still warranted.
In Value Creators, we spotlight the firms shaping middle-market M&A during a period marked by valuation gaps and a flight to quality. Dealmakers discuss what is getting done, what is stalling and how buyers and lenders are adjusting as 2025 takes shape.
Finally, our Dealmakers section brings together lenders from across the market who are balancing discipline with speed, selectivity with service and competition with structure. They offer a candid look at what it takes to win in an environment where certainty and trust carry more weight than ever.
This issue is more than a roster of standout companies. It is a cross-section of where our industry is heading and the people driving it forward. The Power Players you will meet in these pages are building what comes next. They are solving problems no one saw coming five years ago. They are rewriting playbooks that had grown too comfortable. They are proving that strength in this market is measured by clarity, execution and the courage to rethink old assumptions.
From all of us at ABF Journal, we wish you a wonderful holiday season and a happy
and healthy 2026!
– Rita Garwood
